Hi…I recently began converting plastic to glass in my kitchen. It has been such an exciting experience to me that I took photos along the way to inspire my family to hopefully do the same…. The fact is that storing good food in glass is very beautiful, which is inspiring.

Please enjoy these gorgeous images, as well as Melliny’s explanation of how she stores fruits and vegetables in glass in her refrigerator. At the end, I’ve added a few of my own ideas.

I got rid of the “vegetable bins” in my refrigerators where plastic bags filled with rotting produce are most likely to live and use glass jars to store almost everything. You don’t need veggie bins when each type of produce you have has its own transparent glass container. It is also more convenient sometimes to lay tall jars on their sides, such as when you have soft, heavy fruit like… Read the rest

Hi…I recently began converting plastic to glass in my kitchen. It has been such an exciting experience to me that I took photos along the way to inspire my family to hopefully do the same…. The fact is that storing good food in glass is very beautiful, which is inspiring.

Please enjoy these gorgeous images, as well as Melliny’s explanation of how she stores fruits and vegetables in glass in her refrigerator. At the end, I’ve added a few of my own ideas.

I got rid of the “vegetable bins” in my refrigerators where plastic bags filled with rotting produce are most likely to live and use glass jars to store almost everything. You don’t need veggie bins when each type of produce you have has its own transparent glass container. It is also more convenient sometimes to lay tall jars on their sides, such as when you have soft, heavy fruit like… Read the rest

My new favorite thing this summer is making tomato sauce from scratch using fresh tomatoes and my toaster oven. Why would I need to do that when it’s easy to buy tomato sauce in glass jars? Well, several reasons. First, even plastic-free packaging like glass has an environmental footprint. (I’ll write more about that in my next post.) I’d rather avoid most kinds of packaging (especially when the homemade alternative is as simple as this one is.) And second, homemade tomato sauce from fresh summer tomatoes is delicious. In fact, it’s so good, I sometimes just eat it with a spoon directly from its repurposed jar.

Two tools make this recipe super easy for me: my ancient toaster oven and a secondhand stainless steel food mill I found at a yard sale several years ago.

First, I spread out the tomatoes on the toaster oven baking sheet and drizzle olive oil over them. With bigger tomatoes, you’d… Read the rest

My new favorite thing this summer is making tomato sauce from scratch using fresh tomatoes and my toaster oven. Why would I need to do that when it’s easy to buy tomato sauce in glass jars? Well, several reasons. First, even plastic-free packaging like glass has an environmental footprint. (I’ll write more about that in my next post.) I’d rather avoid most kinds of packaging (especially when the homemade alternative is as simple as this one is.) And second, homemade tomato sauce from fresh summer tomatoes is delicious. In fact, it’s so good, I sometimes just eat it with a spoon directly from its repurposed jar.

Two tools make this recipe super easy for me: my ancient toaster oven and a secondhand stainless steel food mill I found at a yard sale several years ago.

First, I spread out the tomatoes on the toaster oven baking sheet and drizzle olive oil over them. With bigger tomatoes, you’d… Read the rest

I don’t chew gum, but Michael does, as did legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager (maybe he still does.) But if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that most chewing gum (even “natural” Glee Gum) either contains plastic as an ingredient in the gum base or is packaged in plastic.

I don’t chew gum, but Michael does, as did legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager (maybe he still does.) But if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that most chewing gum (even “natural” Glee Gum) either contains plastic as an ingredient in the gum base or is packaged in plastic.

Since writing my book Plastic-Free, I’ve had multiple requests for a condensed version with just the basics for getting started. My answer is usually, “Great idea. How about you write it?” Because seriously, we need as many plastic-free voices in the media as possible. And to be honest, I get tired of hearing my own voice. Well, now someone else gone and written the shorter guide that people have been clamoring for.

What’s Included

In her new, brightly illustrated digital ebook That’s a Wrap, just in time for Plasticfree July, Australian blogger Lindsay Miles includes basic information about problems with plastic (as well as the drawbacks to recycling and plant-based plastics) and why you’d want to reduce your use of it.

After getting the problems out of the way in the first 25% of the book, Lindsay goes on to offer a wealth of plastic-free tips and solutions,

Since writing my book Plastic-Free, I’ve had multiple requests for a condensed version with just the basics for getting started. My answer is usually, “Great idea. How about you write it?” Because seriously, we need as many plastic-free voices in the media as possible. And to be honest, I get tired of hearing my own voice. Well, now someone else gone and written the shorter guide that people have been clamoring for.

What’s Included

In her new, brightly illustrated digital ebook That’s a Wrap, just in time for Plasticfree July, Australian blogger Lindsay Miles includes basic information about problems with plastic (as well as the drawbacks to recycling and plant-based plastics) and why you’d want to reduce your use of it.

After getting the problems out of the way in the first 25% of the book, Lindsay goes on to offer a wealth of plastic-free tips and solutions,

Do you have a hard time letting go of things because they might be useful one day? Are you reluctant to give away your old plastic kitchenware for fear that someone else will be harmed by it? Or that they won’t dispose of it properly when they’re done with it? Do you resist tossing things into the recycle bin because you know the truth about what happens to most of our plastic recycling, and it’s not pretty? Do you feel compelled to bring home items left on the street even if you have no immediate use for them?

Are you turning your own home into a landfill?

The plastic in my attic.

These are questions many environmentalists deal with. Ever since June of 2007 when I put a bag under my kitchen table and vowed to acquire no new plastic, I’ve been collecting my plastic waste. And one day, a friend of mine looked at my boxes of years of collected plastic and said, “You know Beth, they have a word for this behavior, and it starts with… Read the rest

Do you have a hard time letting go of things because they might be useful one day? Are you reluctant to give away your old plastic kitchenware for fear that someone else will be harmed by it? Or that they won’t dispose of it properly when they’re done with it? Do you resist tossing things into the recycle bin because you know the truth about what happens to most of our plastic recycling, and it’s not pretty? Do you feel compelled to bring home items left on the street even if you have no immediate use for them?

Are you turning your own home into a landfill?

The plastic in my attic.

These are questions many environmentalists deal with. Ever since June of 2007 when I put a bag under my kitchen table and vowed to acquire no new plastic, I’ve been collecting my plastic waste. And one day, a friend of mine looked at my boxes of years of collected plastic and said, “You know Beth, they have a word for this behavior, and it starts with… Read the rest

This post might be controversial, but sometimes you have to admit when you might have been a little bit… wrong? Anyway, five years ago, I wrote a pretty depressing blog post about why we cannot solve the problem of ocean plastic pollution by focusing on cleanup schemes.

2010- 2013: My Doubts

My point was that as long as we continue to consume vast amounts of disposable plastic, any effort at cleanup would be, to quote Captain Charles Moore, “like baling water from a bathtub with the spigot still running.” So, in 2012, when I started hearing about a Dutch teenager who had designed an expensive contraption to clean up the gyre within 5 years, I dismissed the story as just one more distraction from the real issue. Here’s then 18-year old engineering student Boyan Slat at a TEDx event in Delft explaining his idea:

This post might be controversial, but sometimes you have to admit when you might have been a little bit… wrong? Anyway, five years ago, I wrote a pretty depressing blog post about why we cannot solve the problem of ocean plastic pollution by focusing on cleanup schemes.

2010- 2013: My Doubts

My point was that as long as we continue to consume vast amounts of disposable plastic, any effort at cleanup would be, to quote Captain Charles Moore, “like baling water from a bathtub with the spigot still running.” So, in 2012, when I started hearing about a Dutch teenager who had designed an expensive contraption to clean up the gyre within 5 years, I dismissed the story as just one more distraction from the real issue. Here’s then 18-year old engineering student Boyan Slat at a TEDx event in Delft explaining his idea:

It’s not easy to do the dishes when there are a bunch of reusable bottles in the way. And early in the morning, when I’m more than a little stressed out trying to get out the door on time, confronting this situation was making me nuts.

I know, I know. How hard is it to just move those bottles? Terrible problem to have, compared to all the other problems in the world, right? Still, sometimes fixing small, irritating problems–especially those that slow me down in the morning–helps me be more effective for the rest of the day.

So I went on the hunt for a perfect bottle drying solution that would not take up extra real estate on my small kitchen counter. (Putting them over wooden spoons or chopsticks wasn’t really working for me.) And then, searching Amazon, I discovered the Mommy Genius bottle and bag drying rack,which had a slew of positive reviews.

It’s not easy to do the dishes when there are a bunch of reusable bottles in the way. And early in the morning, when I’m more than a little stressed out trying to get out the door on time, confronting this situation was making me nuts.

I know, I know. How hard is it to just move those bottles? Terrible problem to have, compared to all the other problems in the world, right? Still, sometimes fixing small, irritating problems–especially those that slow me down in the morning–helps me be more effective for the rest of the day.

So I went on the hunt for a perfect bottle drying solution that would not take up extra real estate on my small kitchen counter. (Putting them over wooden spoons or chopsticks wasn’t really working for me.) And then, searching Amazon, I discovered the Mommy Genius bottle and bag drying rack,which had a slew of positive reviews.

Michelle Cassar is a long-time reader of this blog and committed anti-plastic activist, although I’m not sure she would actually call herself an activist, nor anti plastic. She’s also a surfer, photographer, and world traveller who has been living in Portugal for quite a while. Back in 2011, she sent me a list of the over 10,000 plastic items she had refused since beginning her plastic-free life. And now, she’s helping others to refuse plastic by working with a local restaurant to eliminate plastic cups. Here is the story in her own words. Read, enjoy the beautiful photography, and be inspired!

(Por favor, vá para baixo para a versão Português.)

Aljezur is a small Portuguese village that dates back to Medieval times. It is located in the South of the Costa Vicentina, a natural park which runs from Lisbon in the North, to Burgau on the South coast. Aljezur’s West … Read the rest

Michelle Cassar is a long-time reader of this blog and committed anti-plastic activist, although I’m not sure she would actually call herself an activist, nor anti plastic. She’s also a surfer, photographer, and world traveller who has been living in Portugal for quite a while. Back in 2011, she sent me a list of the over 10,000 plastic items she had refused since beginning her plastic-free life. And now, she’s helping others to refuse plastic by working with a local restaurant to eliminate plastic cups. Here is the story in her own words. Read, enjoy the beautiful photography, and be inspired!

(Por favor, vá para baixo para a versão Português.)

Aljezur is a small Portuguese village that dates back to Medieval times. It is located in the South of the Costa Vicentina, a natural park which runs from Lisbon in the North, to Burgau on the South coast. Aljezur’s West … Read the rest

So, I have kind of a confession. I waited until we had the biggest rainstorm in years to even think about buying rain boots. I waited until my work shoes and socks were soaked through, and I was sloshing around the office all day, to ask myself, “I wonder if I can buy Kamik recycled rain boots here in the Bay Area.” I’d already researched the boots for inclusion in my book. I just hadn’t bothered to actually try them out. Until now.

So, last Thursday evening, I found myself in Nordstrom at San Francisco Centre asking if there were any Kamik rain boots and basically getting laughed at for thinking any store in town would still have any rain boots left. So I did something I’m not proud of. I ordered them overnight from Amazon. And they arrived the next day.

Kamiks are great but Amazon sucks

Okay, first let me tell you about the boots, and then let me explain why ordering from Amazon is not the best… Read the rest

So, I have kind of a confession. I waited until we had the biggest rainstorm in years to even think about buying rain boots. I waited until my work shoes and socks were soaked through, and I was sloshing around the office all day, to ask myself, “I wonder if I can buy Kamik recycled rain boots here in the Bay Area.” I’d already researched the boots for inclusion in my book. I just hadn’t bothered to actually try them out. Until now.

So, last Thursday evening, I found myself in Nordstrom at San Francisco Centre asking if there were any Kamik rain boots and basically getting laughed at for thinking any store in town would still have any rain boots left. So I did something I’m not proud of. I ordered them overnight from Amazon. And they arrived the next day.

Kamiks are great but Amazon sucks

Okay, first let me tell you about the boots, and then let me explain why ordering from Amazon is not the best… Read the rest

So, I have kind of a confession. I waited until we had the biggest rainstorm in years to even think about buying rain boots. I waited until my work shoes and socks were soaked through, and I was sloshing around the office all day, to ask myself, “I wonder if I can buy Kamik recycled rain boots here in the Bay Area.” I’d already researched the boots for inclusion in my book. I just hadn’t bothered to actually try them out. Until now.

So, last Thursday evening, I found myself in Nordstrom at San Francisco Centre asking if there were any Kamik rain boots and basically getting laughed at for thinking any store in town would still have any rain boots left. So I did something I’m not proud of. I ordered them overnight from Amazon. And they arrived the next day.

Kamiks are great but Amazon sucks

Okay, first let me tell you about the boots, and then let me explain why ordering from Amazon is not the best… Read the rest

So, I have kind of a confession. I waited until we had the biggest rainstorm in years to even think about buying rain boots. I waited until my work shoes and socks were soaked through, and I was sloshing around the office all day, to ask myself, “I wonder if I can buy Kamik recycled rain boots here in the Bay Area.” I’d already researched the boots for inclusion in my book. I just hadn’t bothered to actually try them out. Until now.

So, last Thursday evening, I found myself in Nordstrom at San Francisco Centre asking if there were any Kamik rain boots and basically getting laughed at for thinking any store in town would still have any rain boots left. So I did something I’m not proud of. I ordered them overnight from Amazon. And they arrived the next day.

Kamiks are great but Amazon sucks

Okay, first let me tell you about the boots, and then let me explain why ordering from Amazon is not the best… Read the rest